LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS IN PAPUA -- LARGELY

C O N F I D E N T I A L JAKARTA 000653 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, EAP/ANP NSC FOR E.PHU E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/09/2019 TAGS: PGOV PINS KDEM ID SUBJECT: LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS IN PAPUA -- LARGELY PEACEFUL, ORDERLY, BUT SCATTERED INCIDENTS REF: JAKARTA 530 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Pol/C Joseph L. Novak, reasons 1.4 (b+d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Election day for Indonesia's national legislative elections was largely orderly and peaceful in Papua on April 9. Scattered incidents resulted in five deaths, however, as pro-independence groups attacked a police post near the provincial capital of Jayapura while small clashes occurred in several other Papuan cities. Some polling stations in Jayapura opened late and many voters faced waits or inaccurate voter lists. Despite the problems, most Papuans who wished to vote did so without major problems. Septels review the results nationally and in Aceh. END SUMMARY. LARGELY PEACEFUL, ORDERLY ¶2. (C) Election day for national legislative elections was largely orderly and peaceful in the Papua region of eastern Indonesia on April 9. Emboff visiting Jayapura reported only minor problems in the capital. Some polling places opened as many as two hours late and many voters faced long lines at the polls. NGO activists told emboff that some of the voter lists contained errors or omissions although the scope of the problem was unclear. Most polling stations closed as scheduled, at noon or shortly thereafter. After the polls closed election officials allowed voters to continue marking their ballots so long as they had arrived while the polling place was still open. In some locations, voters tried to use "traditional" voting practices, such as allowing the village head to mark everyone's ballot. Election officials largely prevented this practice. ¶3. (C) Logistical problems prevented voting in a few remote areas. Several districts in the central highlands did not vote because officials failed to get election materials there in time. American missionary pilots based in Jayapura told us that bad weather prevented flights by the small planes that provide the only transport to these isolated communities. Officials promised to reschedule elections there as soon as possible. SCATTERED INCIDENTS ¶4. (C) While the region was basically peaceful, five people died in scattered incidents before voting began. In the early morning hours of April 9, a small number of independence supporters armed with spears and arrows attacked a police post in Abepura, a suburb of Jayapura. Security forces killed one attacker and arrested four others. A suspicious fire severely damaged a university administration building, also in Abepura. While the blaze remains under investigation, the people we spoke to blamed anti-election groups. (Note: In the weeks before the election, pro-independence activists organized several demonstrations that called for a boycott of the vote. See reftel.) ¶5. (C) Other Papuan cities experienced violence as well. Three people died in a clash between security forces and protesters in Wamena, the largest city in Papua's central highlands. A fire triggered by an improvised bomb claimed one victim on Biak, an island of the northern coast of the province. ¶6. (C) In other news, Papua Governor Barnabas Suebu had planned to visit Wamena to observe voting but decided at the last minute to remain in Jayapura. The aircraft he was to have used, a BAE-146 operated by the airline Aviastar, crashed while approaching Wamena. It carried no passengers at the time of the crash although all six crew members died. Our contacts reported that the plane was flying in poor visibility in the mountainous region. AWAITING RESULTS ¶7. (C) Given Papua's many remote and isolated locations, election results will likely trickle in slowly (the Papua vote will not be decisive for the country as a whole as the population is quite small there). Challenges to the results are certainly possible, especially given reports of problems with voter lists. Septels review the results nationally and in Aceh. HEFFERN